'Ne Vile Velis'
The Motto We Have Adopted
'Ne Vile Velis' was originally the personal motto of Thomas Neville, who lived from 1544 to 1614 - a man who was held in affection and trust by his fellow countrymen as a person of culture, integrity and good taste. He achieved considerable status as Master of Trinity College Cambridge and subsequently as Dean of Canterbury Cathedral. Such was the trust and regard in which Neville was held that he was chosen by the Archbishop of Canterbury for the important function of bearing the united greetings of the clergy of England to King James in Scotland on his accession to the throne. When King James visited him at Cambridge in 1614, he stated that he was "proud of such a subject". A contemporary at Cambridge said of him: "he never had his like for a splendid, courteous and bountiful gentleman".
With the motto Ne Vile Velis Neville was able to embody his personal philosophy in a phrase that incorporated his own name (which he spelt Nevile). It's meaning is essentially: "nothing distasteful or vulgar".
Alan Webb, proprieter of Oriental Rugs of Bath comments: "Thomas Neville created a model for the qualities of good taste and standards of conduct that are singularly worth perpetuating. Although the passage of time has made him less widely known, I feel that his personal qualities make him worthy of emulation".
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